Botna_Bulletin_7_2_1994

OTNA UL LE TIN
THE NEWSLEITER OF THE BUDDIES OF THE NINTH ASSOCIATION
HOTNA
Vol. 7, No. 2 June 1994
On the first piige ol tlw September l!:l8!:l issue of BOTNA BULLETIN your EdH01
gave Gome dtlentiuo lo Lhe welcome growth ln lhe · 1·ecruilmenl · uf ·§oung
people inlo BOTNA. Our late President, Lanny Lanowski, had long advocated
the encouragement of lhis important aspect and, if he were alive today,
would be delighted at the interest in WW2' s Ninth USAAF that is being
carried forward by a generation too young to have experienced the days when
the great air-armadas set forth from these shores. Since ·1939 the
percenlage of "under thirties" has steadily climbed and today represents a
very large section of the membership. This situation is echoed in the U. 5,
where many of the veteran associations count sons, daughter.s and
grandchildren among their number, ensuring continuation of those
associations long after their creators have notched up their final
missions. The message from the dwindling band, who survived the gre1:1t
dirninisher that was WW2, is, without doubt, "welcome lads and lassies, we
are grateful for your interest, we a.re delighted to have you .afjd are
pleased to know that you will continue to tell the story of the grealNinth
AF to all who will listen."
REUNION NEWS
Still meeting on an individual squadron basis, the 4-53rd BS Association, of
the 323rd BG, holds 1t' s 34-th Reunion, during the period 5 to 8 September,
1994, at the Las Vegas Tropicana, NV.
Meeting at the Radisson Hotel members of the 391st BG Association will hold
forth from 19 thru 23 October, 1994. A full progrBlllIDe of events has been
arranged culminati.ng in a Dinner Dance. W r\;,~,;- -~I~+;,,. -:
Members of the 451st BS, 322nd BG, reunite at the PE!abody Hotel, Mel\lphi,s,
TN, on 31 August, 199~.
At the Marriott Hotel in Albuquerque, NM, will gather members of thti 386i:h
BG, starting 31 August, 1994.
A number of 322nd BG veterans and their wives w:Ul, on Septembe.r 14, be
setting out for Europe on a 14-day tour which will bring them to England· on
21 September for a visit to their old field at Great Saling. MemberG of
BOTNA who wish to welcome and to chat 1 with the veterans, should be on th"e'
airfield during the morning. ·· ·
Many Ninth AF Fighter Group veterans will be visiting the UK during the
coming summer months and there are just too many individual parties to
mention, even if we knew about them all, which we don't! Of course, .ver:-y.
many more will be visiting old bases in France and we mustn• t forget that' ·ii-'
great many of the Ninth AF veterans who will be visiting Europe this year,
never did serve in England.
The same comments can be made about the veterans of Troop Carrier Groups,··
though not so much the bit about not serving in England. We know of a few
individual bands who will be heading our way and BOTNA members who are all
fired up to host the111i but, generally, there appears t.o be no major body of
TCG personrrel in sight, which is a pity, in view of their significant role.
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REUNION NEWS
From the 409th BG Association, lnc. comes news of their next reunion which
will be held at the Executive Inn, Nashville, TN, over the dates 15-18
Sept ember, 1994.
BOTNA BULLETIN is published four times yearly to coincide with the
association's meetings which are scheduled to be held in the Staff Social
Club at Stansted Airport, Essex. Membership of BOTNA is open to all those
with a genuine interest in the Ninth Air Force of WW2. American members
receive BOTNA BULLETIN by surface mail. The annual subscription is $15,
which should be sent to the Treasurer Olive Mynn, The Dell, Kiln Hill,
IXWORTH, Suffolk, IP31 2HW. Bills are best as the cost of converting
dollar cheques is disproportionally high. The cost of U. K membership is
_currently £7 (£10 for husband and wife) 1 cheques payable to 'BOTNA'. I terns
for inclusion in BOTNA BULLETIN should be sent to the Editor: Bob Mynn, The
Dell, Kiln Hill, IXWORTH, Suffolk, IP31 2HW.
The BUDDIES OF THE NINTH ASSOCIATION is a non profit-making group composed
of aviBtion enthusiasts and others with a special affinity to the U. S Ninth
Air Force of W\112. It is run by a volunteer Management team, the members of
which are ·as follows.
Roger Freeman. PRESIDENT.
Hugh H. Walker. 391st BG. HONORARY PRESIDENT, USA.
Bob Mynn. CHAIRMAN & NEWSLETTER EDITOR.
John Hamlin. SECRETARY & ARCHIVIST.
Olive Mynn. TREASURER & MEMBERSHIP REGISTRAR.
John Nicholls. TROOP CARRIER COORDINATOR.
Carol De Coveley. TEAM ADVOCATE.
FRENCH NINTH AIR FORCE MUSEUM
The plans for a Ninth AF Museum in the airship hanger at Ecausseville have
had to be shelved, due the cost of refurbishment (25,000,000 Francs). A
move is in hand to locate an alternative building.
fRIENDS OR EXECUTIONERS?
A small party of 81st TCS veterans will travel to Europe with veterans of
the 101st Airborne Division.. Marty Wolfe writes "when the paratrooper vets
see. us, will they hug us or hang us? They sound peaceful enough over the
phone, but .....
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THE NINTH AIR FORCE ON D-DAY
Reminiscences and observations of an historic day, compiled by John V.
Nicholls.
At first it was just a fuzzy sort of light, a dim glow hovering like a
cloud-obscured star on the northern horizon. The briefing-room clock said
11. 20 pm. the 5-2 calender said June 5, 194.4-. It was quiet. The blob of
light did not move ... it just grew. It grew too big to be a star, and theh
it just hung there taking on colour. First there were little pin-pricks of
al!lber, then red, then green. There was not a sound. Still it grew larger
and larger and hung like a Christmas tree in the clouds ... red, amber and
green.
Here and there a grease-stained mechanic glanced carelessly across the low,
dark valley to the north, then, startled, stood transfixed ...
"Fer Chrissake Joe, what's THAT?" Joe took his hands from the cold. oily
womb of an engine and squinted intently at the still night sky. "What's
WHAT?" he asks. "THERE, right THERE!" Then Joe saw it too. Well I' 11 be,
I' 11 be a son-of-a-bit ch" he said softly.
Slowly men arose from their work and turned tired faces to the wonder- in
the northern sky. Still it was quiet. Still it grew bigger, brighter. No,
it did not appear to mve ... it just grew. Still there was not a sound from
that Christmas tree in the clouds. It grew until it looked like a huge
magic~l::ity floating along in the sky. THEN you could see it move ... slowly,
majestically. Then you could HEAR it move, or maybe you FELT it first. The
whole sky, the soft night air, alive with the tremendous throb, the low,
deep throb, of countless churning engines. Then you could SEE them.
Planes, planes, dozens of planes! Great big lumbering C-47s. Troop trans­ports,
scores of the~ Douglas C-47s!
"My God! Here comes Glendale!" "This is IT! D-Day! Invasion! Oh my God!·~
For three solid hours they came. Men gathered in little knots on the
ground to watch them and count them, count them until it seemed impossible
there could be any more. They counted a thousand, a thousand planes were
going to fly over the coast of France at 500 feet ... with their lights ON!
"God, what a target! Oh, what a sight!"
This graphic description of the opening hours of D-Day, 1944, came from the
"4.74th Fighter Group in World War II" history. The 474-th' s base at
Warmwell, in the county of Dorset, was the last airfield in England to be
flown over by the vast troop carrier armada heading for Normandy, and for
many it would become the first haven for C-47s returning in a crippled
condition.
The purpose of this article is not to dwell upon the successes and failures ·
of the operations carried out by the Ninth AF on D-Day. The plans covering
the functions of the Ninth AF in Operation Overlord alone totalled over
800, 000 words on 1, 300 pages of double-sided, legal size paper, a paper war_
4
that almost equalled the shooting war.
they are planned.
Things wil 1 go wrong however well
Spearheading the Ninth AF's troop carrier formations were the Pathfinders
who took off from their base at North Wi.tham well before midnight. Their
task was to drop members of the 101st Airborne Division at 0020 who would
set up the markers for the following 50th and 52nd Troop Carrier Wings.
Pathf~nders of the 82nd Airborne were dropped at 0121 hours to mark the
drop ,zones for the 53rd Wing. Before D-Day was over, more than 800 C-47s
and C-53s of the troop carrier element would drop into action about 14,000
paratroopers of the 82nd and 101st Airborne (exact numbers in the records
vary>. In addition 206 Waco CG-4A and Horsa gliders with their C-47 tow
planes, were dispatched.
<Clifton L. Hall, 29th Sqdn of the 313th TCG). "I was scared and anxious,
but that was one of the most beautiful scenes I have ever seen., .across the
English Channel were airplanes as far as you could see, all headed for the
coast of France. I thought of how strong we were, thinking "they <the
enemy> don't stand a chance." That was a good feeling, I knew they were
done when I saw all that." <From 0 We are the 29th" ... by permission.)
(Jack Ryan, Pilot, 29th1 Sqdn). ..As for D-Day CD-Night I call it), it
deserves a special place in the memory bank. The last of the night
airborne drops, the anticipation build-up, finally loading up and heading
for the Channel, the moonlight on the scud, turning between the islands and
the first tracers breaking up the peace of a beautiful night, and lowering
through the scud along the coastline. Shortly the halo of orange from the
fires at St. Mere, the intimidating searchlights and roving, searching
tracer. The strange sensation of having dropped our troops and we were
heading for hom.e. The incredibly close miss of a barrage balloon that the
Navy said wouldn't be there. Watching a poor Lane trapped in a viscious
cone of searchlights and fire near Cherbourg. Back to Folkingham for
generous "ration shots" and the quiet personal satisfaction of having stuck
it to the Bosche the best way any Troop Carrier could. May sound strange,
but it had an enthralling beauty.• (John L. Ryan, 1994-).
<Al. Sabon, crew chief of 4-2-100977, a C-47 of the 96th Sqdn, 440th TCG),
"You asked about our mission on D-Day. Well, nothing much happened during
the flight to Normandy, except for fear and there was enough for all of us.
I remember when we were getting close to our drop zone, the night sky was
red with exploding shells. When we arrived at the DZ, the paratroopers <of
the 101st ,Airbourne) started out of the door, except the last man in the
line, "who fell down. He was so loaded down with equipment that he did not
try t"o get up but just crawled to the door and fell out. If I remember
correctly, the time was somewhere about 1. 30 in the morning. I also
remember what it felt like when we returned to our base in England and
found a very good friend of mine did not come back. A group of us standing
around the operations office looking into the night hoping to hear a plane
coming back. None did." <AS, 1994)
The glider missions in the evening of the 6th of June were hardly a "milk
run." There was still some daylight when the glider pilots cut loose from
their tow-planes.
5
(Gale Ammerman, glider pilot, 81st Sqdn of the 436th TCG) "My gli.der pi'lot
log for June 6, 194.4-, indicates the type of aircraft was a Horsa single tow
with a C-4-7 tow-ship. Take off was from Membury Airfield, Station 466,
with a flight time of two hours and ten minutes to LZ-W near St. Mere
Eglise. The mission was ELMIRA, just a small part of Operation OVERLORD.
My co-pilot was Billy Hart. The take off and flight to Normandy, over the
lovely farms and cottages of southern England was routine. The Channel,
seemingly filled with ships of the invasion fleet, can only be described as
awe inspiring. We approached Normandy directly over Utah beach and,
needless to say, it got pretty exciting as we passed over the coast and
roared inland at around 500 feet. At 2250 hours it was dusk and darkness
was coming in rapidly. In the failing light tracer bullets appeared .to
come up in a graceful curve so thick it appeared one could step out and
walk on the carpet they made. It was sobering to realize that between each
two tracers there were seven other bullets of course, each seemingly aimed
at my Horsa. As B matter of fact, some must have been aimed at my- aircraft
because the conpressed air tanks were punctured and, as a result the
spoilers (flaps) and brakes were not available to make a standard landing
possible. I selected the best available field, cut off from the C-4-7 and
established a normal glide. As I flew the down-wind and cross-wind legs I
learned the bad news that the spoilers were inoperative. The best alterna­tive
to spoilers to "bleed 1off" airspeed and altitude is the forward slip,
which I did. Coming in over 30-40 foot tall trees with 7, 200 lbs of
artillery ammunition on board necessitates an airspeed of about 80 mph to
avoid the stall. But without spoilers that is simply too "hot" for the
Normandy fields, and as a result I sped across the seiected field too fast
to hope to stop, especially without brakes. Billy Hart and .I somshow
managed to get the fuselage between two trees and the shearing off of the
wingG slowed us some. When we finally came to a halt the bot tom of thiii
Horsa had been ground away and soil was pushed up into the cockpit;· Billy
Hart had sustained a broken leg and I was bruised some, but thankfully the
82nd Airborne Division's 319th and 320th Field Artillery Battalion's shells
were useable." <GRA, 1994)
Many of the ground personnel had little idea that D-Day had at last arrived
until all the activity of the day. However, there were some who got· ·an
inkling that something was possibly on the cards. Francis Collins was a
radio repair man based at Chipping Ongar <Willigale) airfield, with Det A,
1032nd Signal Co. "I was at Chipping Ongar on 0-Day. In fact, I was C.Q.
<Charge of Quarters> on the night of June 5th/6th. The orderly room was
actually staffed on a 24 hour basis. Non-commissioned officers <I was a
Staff Sgt.) were detailed to be C.Q.s when the clerks and officers left at
5 pm, until 7 am the neKt morning. Being Signals Corps, the telephone was
in the orderly room, and the C. Q, became the switchboard operator. Not
usually a busy time, the night of June 5/6 was different as I was busy all
night, calls coming in making up bomb loads, arranging flights, etc. I knew
something big was going on, but not sure if this W'dS the real big one. Th~
day of June 6 at Willingale was a very solemn day, we weren't sure whether·
we could make it or not, very traumatic. <FC, 1994)
The medium bomb groups took off before dawn, but the visibility over
southern England was poor and was quite possibly the reason for the loss of
four B-26s from the 39~th BG based at Boreham. Two aircraft of the 587th
BS collided near Gillingham, Kent, with the deaths of both crews. Another
6
Marauder iced-up near Battle, Sussex, and apparently brought down a further
B-26. There was only one survivor, Of the 54 aircraft from the 394.th
dispatched, 34 found their way through the poor weather and bombed their
target, gun positions at Varreville. A second D-Day mission with 37
aircraft successfully bombed further gun positions at Benerville.
Another B-26 group to suffer with icing conditions was the 391st out of
Matching. Of the 17 aircraft in the first box dispatched to bomb coastal
defences at Benerville, 16 returned to base and only the pathfinder bombed
the target. The second box of 17 B-26s were to bomb St. Pierre du Mont, 10
aircraft bombed under pathfinder conditions above the clouds, and the
results were unknown. The third box bombed at Maisy with variable results.
The 391st carried out a further mission in the afternoon against a road
bridge in the vicinity of Gaen. Of 38 aircraft dispatched, 34 bombed the
target.
The crews of the 386th BG at Great Dunmow airfield arrived at their planes
before dawn and were surprised to see black and white stripes on the wings
and fuselages. Ground staff had hastily applied these identification
markings overnight. The 386th struck three targets in the morning and a
fourth in the afternoon.
<Frank Mullen, 386th BG) "We formed up in darkness below the overcast. The
ceiling gradually lowered until the low flights were only about 150 feet
above the landing craft. The 386th had been given the place of honour, the
last to bomb, before the troops landed. We were to drop exactly two minutes
before the first infantry hit the beach. We laid our bombs on Utall beach
right on the minute." <From "The Story of the Crusaders.")
It was 0300 hours when the 323rd BG went to their briefing at their Earls
Colne base. After the weather report, Col. Wood gave the following command
instruction: "This is D-Oay and our men will be going ashore. To get
ashore, the defences we are scheduled to attack have to be knocked out. So
the order is that we go in at wiy altitude necessary to strike the targets
visually and effectively. I repeat, you will go in at any altitude to get
the job done!" The first of 54 Marauders of the 323rd lifted off the
runway at 0415. Three 453rd BS planes failed to form up, but the remainder
continued as planned and commenced their attack at Utah Beach at 0617.
Like the other mediums, the B-26s of the 323rd laid their bombs on the
coastal and beach defences. On return to Earls Colne it was discovered
that one aircraft had been ineffective due to a bomb rack malfunction.
During the afternoon the 323rd flew another mission against a major
crossroad target near Caen.
The three light bomber groups were also busy later in the day attacking
tactical targets in an attempt to disrupt railroad traffic. The 409th flew
their first D-Day mission against a railway junction near V'alognes, half
way up the Cherbourg Peninsular. The weather _was bad over the target with
8/10 cloud cover, which forced the three boxes, totalling 54 A-20 Havocs,
to make a second bomb run. The first box made it's second run in at 3, 000
feet, and the deputy lead aircraft was shot down by the heavy flak. The
other two boxes bombed from 10, 000 feet. The afternoon mission to the
marshalling yards at Albencourt was less successful due to worsening
7
weather conditions. Ten aircraft of the first box got seperated from their
leader, and the entire second box were unable to find the target.
45 Havocs of the 410th BG took off from Gosfield at 1300 hrs to bomb
Carentan marshalling yards, a few miles inland from the invasion beaches.
Three planes failed to bomb due to personnel or maintenance problems. <Lt.·
Marshall G. Richards of the 647th BS) "Went in with three boxes and spares,
bombed from east to west at altitude of 3, 000 to 3, 500 feet. Appears to be
two trains beneath first box's bombs, beach is to the right, target ,:;
disappears beneath the load of 500 lb bombs. " <From 0 The 410th Bombardment
Gr~oup in WW II. ) The 410th' s second mission took place in the evening when
33, out of 37 dispatched, bombed marshalling yards at Longpre Les Coeurs
Saints, near Abbeville. Their 500 lb GP bombs hit the target at 2111 hrs.
One aircraft of the 64-6th BS was shot down and the pilot killed, whilst the
gunners bailed out and were taken prisoner.
As the troop carrier and bomb groups were active on missions to Normandy in
direct support of the Allied landings, the fighters were carrying. out
various tasks on that memorable day which were not always over the
beaches. One example was the 405th FG based at Station 416, Christchurch.
D-Day was an awful let-do'im for the pilots of the 4.05th because their
assignment was patrol duty between Christchurch and the Bay of Biscay,
escorting anti-submarine Liberators of the RAF's Coastal Command. The con­tinuous
patrols by the Libenitors were intended to seal off the invasion
area from possible submarine attacks from the Bay of Biscay, and the 405th
were _tasked with protecting them from Luftwaffe attack. The eager pilots
of the 405th referred to the duty as "The Caribbean Defence Patrol."
The 367th F'G flew the low level <3, 000 feet> patrols over the beach heads.
The unique twin boom tail layout of their P-38 Lightnings made them less
likely to be misteken for Luftwaffe fighters and cut down the risk of their
being shot at in error by the landing forces. In addition the group
carried out ground at tacks. No fewer than six missions were flown by the
group on D-Day.
Another P-38 outfit, the 474.th FG from Station 454 <Warmwell>, was being
used in a dive-bombing role. Each of the planes from the 428th FS (The
Geyser Gang) carried two 1, 000 lb bombs for their only mission of the day.
Their target was a railroad bridge over the River Seine near Oissel, south
of Rauen, which was severely damaged. One plane had a hang-up but the bomb
fell free over England on return. FortW1ately it was unarmed.
The 365th FG (The Hell Hawks) were also in action in the dive-bombing role
from Beaulieu airfield. All day long they flew sorties with their P-47s,
and assisted in the final destruction of the Oissel rail bridge.
The 362nd FG at Headcorn had been briefed to attack various targets, but
poor weather prevented those targets from being pinpointed. The group did_
carry out escort missions for the troop carriers in the evening. and it was
2310 hrs before the last of it's P-47s landed back at base.
A footnote on the efforts of the Ninth AF on D-Day. Excluding the Troop
Carrier missions, the Ninth dispatched 3, 342 aircraft, of which 3, 050
achieved their objectives,
8
Of course, the activities recorded here represent a mere fraction of the
great effort which, as part of the overall Allied strategy, was extended by
the men of the Hinth AF on the big day, an effort about which we historians
fire prompted to ask ... would D-Day have succeeded without it?
Acknowledgements and sources. ThW1ks to Gale Ammerman, Jack Ryan, Al Saban
and Francis Collins for their correspondence.
"We np.:i thB 29th!" HnrkiBwlcz. "The History of the Hell Hawks." Johnson.
"Magin' s Maulers. 11 "The 474-th FG in WW2." Keller. ..Thunder Monsters Over
Europe." Nolte, "The 367th FG in WW2." Moody. "The Geyser Gang ... Steinko.
"Marauder Men. 11 Moensch. "391st BG History WW2." .. The Crusaders: Story of
the 386th BG." Young. "Bridge Busters: Story of the 394th BG." Ziegler.
"USAAF-409th BG... "The 410th BG in WW2." "The Ninth AF in WW2." Rust.
THE DEVELOPMENT AND HISTORY OF "CAMP GRIFFISS". BUSHY PARK
<When young Richard Harries joined BOTNA last year, he wrote to me about
his researches relating to 1the USAAF base that once existed in Bushy Park.
Interested, I asked for some more details. I wasn't, however, prepared for
the wealth of highly-informed, meticulously prepared, material, which he
soon caused to be de'livered through my mail-box. 1be full history of Camp
Griffiss is so little known that I felt sure other members would wtEih to
share it's important story, even though it's Ninth AF connection was
tenuous. Richard's researches have been so thorough that the resultant
paperwork would, alone, fill three complete issues of BOTNA BULLETIN. In
at tempting to fit the story into our fi'.";}Wslet ter' s pages I have had to leave
out much background of great historic interest ... Camp Griffiss was built in
one of Britain's most historic areas and, inevitably some of this rubbed
off. All text is Richard's own. ED>
Camp Griffiss was nal!led in memory of Lt. Col. Townsend <Pinky) Griffiss,
one of the first USAAF officers to lose his life in the ETO. Whilst return­ing
from an undisclosed mission to Russia, his plane was mistakenly shot
down by a Polish RAF Spitfire pilot.
AAF Station 586. codenamed "Widewing" but commonly known as Camp Griffiss,
\<las the nerve centre of the 8th USAAF in the ETO, being the Headquarters of
both the 8th AF and the VIII AF Service Command. The Camp was also the
temporary location of the Twelfth USAAF Service Command before the Allied
Invasion of North Africa in November 1942, Later, Camp Griffiss was where
the Ninth USAAF Service Command was activated and organised prior to the
~~vasion of Normandy. <See P5 BOTNA BULLETIN for June 1993. ED)
CAMP GRIFFISS 1941 to 1942. Before ofHcial ·American involvement in the
ETO, the buildings which were to form the nucleus of Camp Griffiss were
originally designed for the purpose of holding evacuated commercial offices
.driven from the City of London by Luftwaffe bombing raids. In the original
plan the Bushy Park T.0.B's <Temporary Office Buildings), consisted of four
units off Sandy Lane1 Teddington, Middlesex, called Blocks "A", "B", "C .. ,
and "D." Each block was to be provided with three openings cut through
9
Bushy Park's perimeter wall for access, but there existed no connecting
road between the units. In addition each Block was to have eight spurs, or
wings, on each side of the main construction axis building. The T. O. B
plans were prepared by Mr L, H. Bucknell, an architect with the British
Government's Ministry of Works <M.O.W>, and these were completed in Septem­ber
194-1. Construction started in the following month of October, the
contract being awarded to the building comptmy "Kent & Sussex Ltd" with Mr
W. A. R. Armstrong appointed as Clerk of Works. These T. O. B's were to be
ready for occupation as civilian offices by the spring of 194-2. However,
as the blitz on London decreased, so proportionally had the construction
work in Bushy Park slowed. By June 194-2, when the· site was inspected for
possible use by the 8th USAAF, the building programme lagged seriously
behind the initial target dates, partly due to the severe shortage of
skilled cniftsman and labour created by war conditions, with only Block "A"
complete and Block B nearing completion. Despite these problems, the 8th
AF were granted use of the property through the British Government's Air
Ministry, being requisitioned on 10 June 1942.
When first occupied by the Bth AF on 17 June 1942, Camp Griffiss consisted
of two main sections. (1) The "King's Canadian School0 <KCS>, better known
as "Upper Lodge", a short distance from the Hampton Hill/Pantile Bridge
entrance to Bushy Park. This famous fine old building was first construct­ed
by Sir John Hippesly in 1628. It was completely rebuilt by Charles
Montagu, Viscount Sunbury and 1st Earl of Halifax, in 1709. He laid out
extensive gardens in the fornal style and improved the flow of the Longford
River·,-- which ran through the property, the latter action considerably
helping the performance of the water fountains at Hampton Court Palace.
Upper Lodge was again completely rebuilt between 1810 and 1820, it was also
considerably enlarged. During the First World War Upper Lodge became the
King's Canadian Hospital, treating Canadian servicemen who had been wounded
in combat. King George V and Queen Mary visited the hospital, entering the
Park via the Hampton Hill gate. Between the two World Wars the property was
used by the London County Council as the "King's Canadian Open Air Camp
School", a treatment centre for under-privilaged children from poor homes
in London's East End who were suffering from respiratory complaints. KCS
was designated as a barracks area for enlisted men in June 1942.
(2) The other section of Camp Griffiss was situated about a ~ mile from KCS
and near the Teddington Park Road entrance, about one hundred yards right
of Sir Christopher Wren's world famous chestnut avenue, and consisted of a
one storey newly-built brick structure, 420 feet long by 180 feet wide­Block
"A"- complete with 16 spurs, and a second building-Block "B"- which
was nearing completion.
Immediately in June 1942, Mr Bucknell' s M. O. W Design Of Hee was contacted
through the Air Ministry, and plans were prepared for a third unit-Block
"C"- J ocated approximately 200 yards south and equidistant to Blocks "A., &
"B". Mr Bucknell was also instructed to plan a new Main Entrance to the
Camp and a road system connecting the Blocks.
The first Post Commander was Lt. Col. Harold B. Willis, who in his civilian
life was a prominent architect from Boston. He also had the added
advantage of many years experience of military matters and procedure. He
assumed command on 9 July 1942, When the first contingent of 8th AAF troops
10
arrived at Camp Griffiss. It was this extremely fortunate combination of
both civil and military experience, that mBde it possible to convert the
existing T. O. B facilities into those for the 8th AF ETO Headquarters, in
such a relatively short period of time. From the available projection data
known at that particular time, Col. Willis prepared a further plan to
satisfy the requirements of "Widewing". Another M. 0, W architect, Mr C. E.
Bedford, was instructed to prepare for a 750 men camp at Sites 3 and 4-1
entitled by the 8th AF ,.Chestnut Avenue". This was requisitioned on 1 Aug­ust
1942 and occupied on the 10th. In addition, Site 2, called "The Warren
Plantation" was requisitioned for a further camp site on 1 August 194-2 and
although occupied officially on 1 September, it was finally completed on 1
October 1942. With the completion of the "Warren Plantation'° site, troops
could be moved out of Block "B.. and under canvas. The evacuated "B'" Block
becoming the Logistics Headquarters of the VIII AFSC, with it's own men to
be quartered at KCS, which was requisitioned 10 June 1942. Mr Bedford was
instructed to augment the facilities there with a new .Mess Hall and Ablu­tions
for 1000 men, before the enlisted men of the HQ VIII AFSC could be
housed there on anything like a permanent basis.
By 13 August 19421 when Col. Willis was succeeded by Col. Neal Creighton of
North Carolina, an Air Force officer of 26 years as Squadron and Station
Commander. The awesome 'responsibility for carrying on this "Herculian"
construction programme and modifying it as conditions in the ever-changing
ETO demanded, and of developing the camp from a collection of buildings,
tent sites and assorted troops, fell onto the shoulders of the new Post
Commander.
By this time H had been realised that further building would have to be
undertaken. Mr Bucknell was instructed through the British Air Ministry to
design a fourth structure <which had been in the original T. 0, B plans),
designated as Block "D". The contracts for constructing both blocks was
awarded to the building firm Pitchers Ltd, of North London.
As Post Commander, Col. Creighton was responsible for "Widewing' s" seeming,
never ending building projects. It would be true to state however, that the
success of the Camp Griffiss construction programme was made possible only
through the generous cooperation of the British Governmental Agencies, the
Air Ministry and M. 0. W, and by the fortunate assignment of Major Charles
Barrows, in civil life a prominent architect from Rochester, NY, as Post
Utilities Officer.
By 15 October 1942, the first large group of huts had been completed and
this meant better shelter from the hostile elements than that provided by
the tents, and enabled 900 men to be moved from under canvas into Nissen
huts before the onslaught of a British winter.
Soon it was realised by the Post ColllID.ander and his officers that Block "A"
necessitated several additions such as a "War Room'' and Telephone Wing. The
plans for Block "C" were also altered to include a large .Mess and Lounge
for officers, this was later changed to an Auditorium and Officer's Club,
with facilities for a Locker and Shower Room, Handball/Squash Courts. The
importance of the Officer's Club lay in the fact that no officer quarters
were provided in the confines of the Camp and many were billeted nearby
with British families.
11
Further pressure on Camp Griffiss's space was brought about when it became
the temporary location of the 12th AFSC prior to Operation Torch, the
Allied Invasion of N W Africa in .November 194-2., The increased perso,-inel
necessitated the erection of huts around Blocks "A" and "811
1 as well as
between the wings or spurs. Although the basic construction contracts were
let to civilian contractors by the M. O. W through Offices of the Air
Ministry, many projects at Camp Griffiss were carried out by U. S Military
organisations, both those stationed at Bushy Park, and those sent to the
Camp for the purpose.
A defence strategy for a military installation so close to the enemy, was
of the greatest importance and an awesome responstbility for the Post
Commander who delegated the execution of a Plan of Defence to Major Bob W.
Endicott, a competent Reserve Officer from Indiana. This officer was
responsible for securing the whole-hearted cooperation of the local British
Defence Command, and for planning the Camp's evacuation if the need arose.
Aerial bomardment was a real threat to Camp Griffiss. Before the creation··
of the CBmp the surrounding area had suffered badly from night bombing by
the Luftwaffe. During November 1940, 120 people had been killed, 1, 4-00
injured, and 64,000 houses blitzed.
In Bushy Park the many famous landmarks were unfortunately useful to the
navigators of enemy bombers. One such was the famous statue by the sculpter
Fanelli of Diana, Roman Goddess of Hunting. Diana, who stands atop a
column _ in the middle of Diana Pond, was removed. The pond was drained and
100, 000 square feet of wired camouflage netting drawn over the structure.
The .. Heron" and "Leg of Mutton" ponds were drained and similerly diguised.
Later water from the Longford River was let back into these two ponds,
which retained their camouflage netting, to help with fire-fighting at Camp
Griffiss. The 8th USAAF augmented existing defensive fire-power with the
siting of an extra six .50 anti-aircraft machine guns.
Camouflage was immensely important, not only for the defence of Camp
Griffiss, but to instruct other sections and bases of the 8th AF in it's
techniques. Three senior officers from Camp Griffiss were sent to the RAF
Camouflage School at Farnham Castle in Surrey, to learn camouflage
techniques. On 1 October 1942, the first of the travelling schools of
camouflage was sent from it's base at "Widewing" to instruct the newly
activated 12th USAAF in the latest methods. This was a mobile outfit that
used Camp Griffiss as a place to refit when necessary, and to receive.
further instructions. Another mobile outfit which had "Widewing". as it's
home base was the Eighth AF Engineer Survey Section, which was sent out
during October 194-2 to advise on the layout of airfields for the. 8th.
In the late autumn of 1942, with the Allied invasion of North Africa., Gen.
Eisenhower became Head of Allied Forces in the Mediterranean Theatre of
Operations and chose as his Air Advisor, Gen. Carl Spaatz. This move
resulted, on 1 November 1942, in Gen. Ira Eaker being transferred t,o Camp
Griffiss from Camp Lynn, as General-in-Chief of the 8th AF.
<To be continued)
12 1944
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14
D-DAY AND THE 409TH BG by Charles G. McMahon. 409th BG.
A-20s from the 409th BG flew two missions on D-Day. Target for the first
mission was the town of Valognes, located part way up the Cherbourg
Peninsular. An important railroad junction was located there that was
being used to send supplies to the German troops on the tip of the
Peninsular. There was also a heavily fortified German garrison that lay
directly in the path of the advancing Allied land forces. The mission was
composed of three boxes of eighteen Havocs.
We took off at 0900 and followed a route that took us down near London, and
then out over the white cliffs of Dover and above the Channel. It soon
became obvious that history was being made, it was a sight that would never
be forgotten by the crews who viewed it. Ships were visible in all
directions, heavy destroyers were bombarding German strongholds on the
coast, and Allied troops were seen standing shoulder to shoulder in the
invasion barges as they headed for the beache&.
Visibility over the target was poor, with 8/10 cloud cover. The box led by
Major Milow and B/N Lt. Ertler, were able to bomb from 10,000 feet on their
second run, despite heavy, accurate flak. The box led by Lt. Gates and B/N
Lt. Bauer were able to bomb from 10. 000 feet on their second pass, with
flak on all sides. The box led by Col. Stocking and BIN Lt. Clements
consisted mostly of crews from the 642nd BS. As they approached the
Cherbourg Peninsular at 9,000 feet, cloud cover started moving in at 4,000
feet. _The Col. and his navigator realised that they would be unable to
make an effective bomb run under these conditions, so the Col. made a long,
sweeping turn, and slow let down to 31 000 feet, just under the cloud cover.
As they hit landfall all hell broke loose. The crews had never seen this
much ground fire before and could actually see the German gunners on the
ground firing at them. Black bursts of flak were sending razor-sharp
pieces of metal through the formation. As they approached the target, the
heavily armed German garr·ison stationed there, started directing all their
firepower at the A-20s.
Turbulance caused by the exploding shells was making it difficult to
maintain the tight formation needed for accurate bombing, and with all the
groundfire the bomb run seemed like an eternity. It got so rough there was
some question as to whether B/N Lt. Clements could stay at his bombsight.
Orders were to hit the target at any cost. Lt. Clements hung in there and
made the drop. At approximately the same time, Lt. Winn, who was flying
Deputy Lead, took a direct hit near the trailing edge of his wing and went
down in flames. Lt. Bill Holmes, flying the #4- position just under and
slightly to the rear of Col. Stocking's plane, saw one of Lt. Winn's
gunners get out in a ball of flame, he never had a chance. Two chutes were
seen. At. the same time, some of the planes in the rear of the formation
were taking evasive action to get out of the way of two engines and one
wing of Lt. Winn's wreckage that was flying back through the formation.
They never did get back in formation, and everyone was on their own. it was
the first time the Group had ever broken formation. Several of the planes
started to pull back up into the overcast to escape the murderous
groundfire. Lt. Holmes came out of the overcast fast and the enemy fire
had. stopped, He was soon joined by Capt. Jerry Autin, who pulled up
alongside and gave the ole -"wipe-the-sweat-off-the-brow" signal. Capt.
15
Autin' s aircraft had numerous flak holes in the rear and his shattered
rudder was flapping in the breeze like a flag. They were soon joined by
other crews and made it back to home base. Every plane in the squadron had
suffered battle damage, Lt. Holmes' plane had 52 holes in it.
Of the 54- planes on the mission, four were shot down. One A-20 that
received major damage and still kept flying was that of Lt. Glen Gerring of
the 642nd BS. His gunners were S/Sgt. George Fry in the turret, and S/Sgt.
Billy Eads in the tunnel. Their plane took several hits on the bomb run
and, as they fought their way back towards the French coast they continued
to take heavy groundfire. Intercom {10d hydnrnlic systems were shot out,
bomb bay doors dropped open, or were shot off, and the flaps came down.
Lt. Gerring had to bring all his training and flying experise into play to
keep the Havoc flying. S/Sgt. Fry took a hit in his right leg but stayed
at his turret position. After they crossed the Channel, two RAF Mosquito
night fighters came up, one on each side, and led the Havoc to their
British base, which had a long, grassy field, just what Lt. Gerring needed
to land without brakes. He made an excellent landing and was credited with
saving the lives of his crew. The maintenance officer at the British base
checked the A-20 and when S/Sgt. fry asked him if he thought it would ever
fly again, the officer said, "I don't think so." The plane had at least 85
holes in H !
The target for the afternoon D-Day mission was the marshalling yard at
Albencqurt. The German's ,were rushing their Tiger Tanks by rail to the
invasion point, and the tanks were sit ting in the marshalling yard. This
was another "must" target, to be hit at all costs, Ground crews rushed to
get the planes repaired and back in the air and the mission was again
composed of three 18 plane boxes. The weather for the afternoon mission
was worse than the morning and one box could not find the target, whilst 10
planes from another box got separated from the others in heavy cloud.
Col. Stocking, and his B/N Lt. Clements, were again leading the 642nd BS
crews on their second mission of the day. Capt. Bills and his B/N' Lt .
.McEvilly were flying Deputy Lead, Lt. Bill Holmes was again in the 114
position. Col. Stocking suddenly signalled his radio was out and left the
lead, the Deputy Lead crew then took over the lead. Heavy cloud cover
forced the A-20s to, again, go in low. Groundfire was again heavy. but Lt.
McEvilly found the target and got good hits. All aircraft suffered heavy
damage, one A-20 lost an engine but made it back to a P-4-/ base in southern
England. <By kind permission of the 4.09th BG Association, Inc)
BILL KEIM
Too late to be included in our March issue came the sad news of lhe death
of Bill Keim. Bill had for many years been deeply involved in the affairs
of the 410th BG <WW2) Association. Assisted by his wife1 Nan, he served as
Secretary/Treasurer for the association and produced the newsletter, a
newsletter which this editor considers was one of the very best, it's
generous pages provided many informative articles for BOTNA BULLETIN,
always with the enthusiastic approval of Bill. His dedication was only
dulled by the evil intrusion of Alzheimer's Disease upon his life. He died
in a nursing home in Marietta, Ohio on February 15.
16
BICYCLE WHEELER DEAJ..ER
Member "Ike" Cambier, of Clari~n, Iowa, wrote -in to comment on the anecdote
about Ray Hedstrom of the 391st BG. Ike says he'd have known that item was
about Ray even if Ray's name wasn't included. It made him think of when
they were issued with bicycles in Ireland. About two weeks before they
were to be transferred they were told to turn in their bikes, and all,
except Ray, did just that. Sure enough, the others never saw their bikes
again whilst Ray carried on riding his for those last two weeks. He rode
it till the last minute, attached the registration to it and left it for
whomever might find it. Ray had been in the Navy for four years before
joining the Air Corps, and knew his way around.
THE WA. Y IT WAS
GROUP PHOTO SECTION by Larry Sue. 391st Bomb Group.
<Larry Sue is a long-time member of BOTNA, lives in California, and was the
only Chinese/American to.serve at Matching>.
A few months after the 391st BG arrived at Matching, England, it's base for
nine months in 1944, a battle-damaged, crippled P-47 righter made an
emergency landing on our runway. While being carried to the ambulance, the
wounded pilot kept insisting to his rescuers, "don't lose the film
magazine, don't lose the gun camera film magazine!" It was an example of
the important role thBt film records played in WW2. Like other, largely
unheralded, Ninth AF groWld support units, the Photo Section played it's
part during the saga of the Ninth' s successful tactical campaign which
supported the Allied Armies in their destruction of the once invincible
German Wehrmacht, and Adolph Hitler's grandiose dreams of world conquest.
The 391st BG Photo Section was composed of a group photographer and the
addition of photographers from the four squadrons. Each squadron had four
photo men on it's roster. Some of the men had years of photographic back­ground,
while the rest of the section bad only completed the AAF' s three
month basic photography course at Lowry Field, Denver, Colorado. The Photo
Section work schedule and procedures were divided into working groups when
the Bomb Group was on combat mission alert. Film processing, developing,
and printing. the strike photoographs was performed by two alternating crews
working 24 hours on and 24 hours off. Also working 24 hourH on and 24 hours
off were two alternating camera installation crews.
A soft-spoken native of Atlanta, GA, Capt. John R. Peterson, was our Group
Photographic Officer. If ever there was a person who represented a southern
gentleman in the finest meaning, it was he. His deep Georgia accent, and
his courteous manner, left no doubt as to where he was from. Capt. Drake, a
tall, distinguished-looking man, was Group Intelligence Officer, and the
perfect compliment for Capt. Peterson. Unfortunately he transferred to
Bomber Command later.
17
The enlisted men in the Photo Section were a "grab-bag'' of personalities
from all over the country. Two were from Long Island1 another came from
Manhattan. Two called Colorado their1 home state.The midwest was represented
by a lothario from Ohio. Of course, one had to come from New Jersey so
that all the publicity would not go to New York. A silent type from Maine
and a "begorra Irishman" from Boston answered the call for New England. Our
camera repairman was an Army Regular who had a fine touch with the cameras
and kept them functioning. I was from California, a native yet. No war can
be won without a Texan to win it for us, and the 391st photo section was no
except ion. Al though I met many sons and daughters of the Alamo, who were
great to have around, unfortunately, our Texan did not fit that category.
How Texas survived when he left, no one will ever know! My memory fails me
as to the rest of the guys.
If my 50 year-old memories are right, the 391st BG Photographic Section
personnel, consisting of Stavanoah, Cook, Reitman, Bush, Moss, Guappone,
and Bob Cox <another long-time BOTNA member, ED), were members of the photo
processing laboratory crews. Cook was also the very able camera repairman.
Doyle, Morasco, and LaVia, made up one of the alternating camera
installation crews. Davis, Fortunato, and Larry Sue, when not flying,
formed the other crew. Joe Rourke was the photo courier, delivering the
important processed film and strike photos to Bomber Command.
During the early months of 1944-, our Group flew combat missions usually
with two formations of 18 bombers each. The formations would consist of
three six-plane flights with the bombardiers toggling their bombs on the
flight leader. This bombing technique was later changed lo releasing all
bombs by formations. While bombing by flights, at least two strike cameras
per flight were required to record the results. This meant that a total of
twelve cameras were installed for every combat mission. As the designated
camera-carrying bombers could be located in four squadron dispersals miles
apart, it was a challenge for the camera installation crews to install the
cameras before the planes took off for the mission.
While on 24 hour duty, the camera installation crews stayed at the flight
operations building day and night. Depending on the nature of the target,
the types of bomb varied from mission to mission. The schedule for bombers
varied from a minumum of 18, to a maximum of 54-, Also variable was the
number of aircraft that would be serviceable for the mission. All this
meant that the cameras could not be installed until a few hours before the
scheduled take off. In the war zone there were no eight 'til five work
days. The field orders for number of planes, types and numbers of bombs,
and primary and secondary targets, were our "Bible", which we ate, worked,
and slept by. The field orders could come in at any time, day or night.
They usually came in from midnight on! Then would come the mad scramble
for ground support section's preparing for the mission.
Upon receiving the Field Orders at Group headquarters, the camer·a install­ation
crew on duty would load the heavy K-17 aerial cameras, camera cables,
and camera motors into the photo jeep and trailer, and race to the
designated bombers. The driver would put the nose of the jeep under the
bombers waist window. One installer would climb onto the jeep's hood and
open the window, while another person climbed into the plane' s interior,
The driver would carry the camera, attached cables, and camera motor, from
18
the trailer and hand them to the one on the hood, who then handed them to
the one in the bomber to mount the camera and connect the cables to the
plane's power source. Efficient as we were, there were times when the last
cameras were installed and connected just as the pilots were starting the
plane's engines.
As the intensity of the airwar stepped up the score for the Group's
missions mounted steadily. Crew Chiefs were so busy painting small yellow
bombs under the pilot's window it was a wonder they were able to maintain
the engines. Soon many of the planes had 30, ~o. and 50 missions to their
credit, the Marauders were proving to be one of the most indestructable,
reliable, warplanes in WW2.
The increase in the number of missions flown caused situations that seemed
straight out of a Keystone Kops movie. At the hardstands, it almost
required a c.op to direct traffic for the various ground support crews
trying to prepare the planes for the next mission. The crew chief and his
assistants were trying to check out the engines. The communications
personnel would be preparing and set ting up radio and interphone systems.
The armaments men were yelling that the machine guns had to be prepared and
the ammunition loaded. The ,ordnance crews were loading the bombs in the
bomb bays as fast as they, could, and saying, without the bombs there
could' nt be a mission! The waiting gasoline-truck drivers were saying the
same thing. Whilst we, the camera installation crew, the lowest on the
totem pole, were trying to install the cameras.
Because many of the bombing missions were scheduled for dawn take off, pre­flight
ground support personnel• s preparations !!lust beg,in during the night.
Blackouts were the order of the day, and enforced. No place is darker than
on a black, foggy night in England. One story that went around the
squadrons was about an Assistant Crew Chief who was trying to reach his
plane one dark, foggy night. He became lost all night and when found in the
morning, was half-frozen. He threatened to join the Navy! If it was
difficult for someone to find a plane in his squadron dispersal area, just
imagine the problems of the camera installation crews with .locating the
designated camera-carrying bombers in four different squadrons, miles apart
during England& darkest nights. The field would seem to get larger and
larger as the night grew darker and darker!
Bomber Command's directive required that all mission strike processed film
and photos be delivered to Bomber ColJllllB.Ild Headquarters within six hours of
the ruission' s return. Initial touchdown created some unusual scenes, a
returning camera-carrying bomber, taxiing to it's dispersal, would find the
camera installation crew's jeep trailing along behind like a puppy dog.
Every minute saved retrieving the cameras, which had to be delivered to the
impatient photo laboratory crew waiting in the photo trailer, meant more
time for them to comply with the six hour deadline.
In a demanding situation that precluded human error, lhe 391st BG
Photograpbic Section performed it's functions with pride in a job well done
during • the time that the 391st Bomb Group was operating from bases in
England, France, and Belgium.
<From the Bob Mynn library of personal accounts)
19
RECOLLECTIONS OF A PATHFINDER PILOT By E. B. <Ned> Grubb.
The first Pathfinder Squadron OU, Provisional, was conceived by General
Samuel E. Anderson, Commander of the Ninth Bombardment Division, as early
as January 1944. The Division had been working on a llllethod to continue
bombing attacks during periods of bad weather, a constant threat during the
winter 111.0nths in England and on the continent. This technique was put into
actual service after long months of practice, trial missions, and intense
study.
When I arrived in England in September 19~4. I had never heard of the 1st
Pathfinder Squadron, it was highly classified. I was assigned to the t52nd
BS, 322nd BG, at Andrews Field where I only flew a few missions as I was
recovering from a long bout of lockjaw. However, after crossing the
channel into France, the 322nd BG shared the airfield 6t Beauvais with the
1st Pathfinder Squadron. The field had been badly damaged by the Ninth,
including the 322nd! It was here, after blowing a left tyre on take-off
for a mission, and luckily sparing the aircraft from serious damage, that I
was reassigned to Pathfinder. During the next six months we moved from
base to base, lived mostly in tents throughout the winter, and finally
finished out the war in Venlo, Holland.
Since the Pathfinder Sqdn was provisional, this meant that it did not have
it's own table of organisation, all crews were selected from various groups
of Ninth BoJDber Command. This also meant, among other things, that all
promotions ceased mile serving in the Squadron, as the Groups from which
we came were very reluctant to promote those of us who were actually on TDY
<temporary duty>. The main, and only, reason for the existence of our
Pathfinder Sqdn was to be able to lead Groups of the 9th Bomber Division to
their targets during periods of bad weather. This promised increased
harrassment to the enemy who were being severely bombed by the RAF during
night raids, and by the 8th and 9th Bombardment Groups during daylight
hours. The enemy now had to worry about bombing attacks during rotten
weather, a time that had, up to now, been a period of relative relaxation,
a time when he could attend to maintenance of flak guns, aircraft, etc, and
get some rest.
Many of the Pathfinder pilots had been B-26 flight instructors as I had
been, and most had considerable B-26 flying time. I had already
experienced blown tyres, engine failures, and a belly-landing, before
arriving overseas, and had accumulated over 750 hours flying time. This
experience helped tremendously when it came time to lead formations as
smoothly as possible and the previous instrument flying time proved
invaluable. One of the pluses being a Pathfinder pilot was the freedom we
were given by Gen. Anderson to fly when we wanted to, despite the weather,
to and fro the various bases in Europe.
A Pathfinder crew usually had a day that went something like this ... The
weather would deteriorate, snow, low clouds, fog, etc, over the target
areas. We would be woken very early, 2 or 3 am, and we would grab a cup of
coffee and head for our briefing at Operations. Since each of our aircraft
was scheduled to fly with a different Group, we naturally had briefings for
our individual targets. We would then board our planes, take off at night,
and fly to the Group's base. We would then attend the briefing and co-
20
ordinate the mission with the Group Commander. Then it was time to take
off, many times at dawn, climb through the overcast, if there was one
locally, form up on top and proceed to the target. Pathfinder planes
usually carried ~x500lb bombs which were used strictly as a reference for
the Group to drop on. Our bombardier would calibrate the proper release
point depending on the trajectory of the bombs the Group was carrying. As
soon as the Group bombardier saw our bombs drop free, he toggled out his
bombs and the rest of the formation followed suit. We often dropped from
on top of an overcast, but IMilY times the entire formation would be in
overcast or light snow, or between layers. At times like these it was to
the great credit of the Group that they were able to maintain formation
under such severe conditions. Add to this the ever present flak, radar
controlled towards the end of the war, which in spite of all the chaff we
tossed out into the slipstream from every bomber in the formation, was
always a menace. More often than not most of us returned to base with a
variety of holes in our aircraft, much to the dismuy of the ground crews
who always did a magnificent job of repairing the damage. After the drop
the Pathfinder would have the option of returning to base alone, or, if the
penetration ito enemy territory was fairly deep and enemy fighters were
ab~ut, of staying with the formation for protection. If the weather
cleared over the target, usually the Group Co11111ander assumed control and
bombed visually.
The equipment we carried was mostly of British design and highly
classified. Whenever our Marauders were parked there was always a guard
posted, and self destruct devices attached to the equipment so that it
could be destroyed if the ship went down over enemy territory. The crew,
including the pilot, had no precise knowledge of what made the equipment
work. We knew how to interpret the signals we received in our headsets
<separate signal in each ear) and how to fly the slightly curved •beam'
that was sent out from a station, first in England and then France. This
'beam' bisected the target and was about 30' wide, less than half the
wingspan of a B-26. Pathfinder crews called the system "cat and mouse", the
cat being the aircraft and the mouse the elusive 'beam'. The IP, or initial
point, was located 25 or 30 miles from the target in order to allow time
for the Pathfinder pilot to "bracket" the 'bea111' and nail it down for an
accurate run. This resulted in a much longer than usual straight flight
path to the target, which was !llOst unpopular with the Groups as it provided
a better-than-usual opportunity for enemy gunners to set up their flak
patterns. At times, if the flak was extremely heavy, the Group Commander
would perform evasive action along the flight path Wltil we fired a flare
which meant we were approaching the target, and he would then pull his
formation behind us for the drop. As we proceeded along the 'bewn' various
radio signals told us where we were with respect to the drop point. When
the release signal was heard, our bombardier would toggle our four bo11bs
and the group would follow suit. This technique was surprisingly accurate
when all the equipment was working. Although we rarely saw the target, or
the bombs strike, later reconnaissance photos revealed that the 1st
Pathfinder Squadron was indeed effective during periods of bad weather.
<From the "Bob Mynn" library of persom!l accoWlts>
21
PAINTING MONEY By Bob Mynn.
At the end of last year I was reading through the latest edition of
"Milkrun", the newsletter of the 34-4-th BG Association, when 1 came upon an
article about the man who did the nose art for the 4-95th BS. Now, most of
you will know that I have the Radio/gunner's seat from "Rosie O' Brady", a
B-26 which belonged to that same 4-95th BS. The seat has a duplicate of
"Rosie's" nose art on the back, plus the painted-on signatures of all the
crew members. Well, I wondered, could this have been painted by the
gentleman in the article? I wrote immediately to Lambert Austin, Secretary
of the 34-4-th BG Association, requesting the address of Dick Reece, the
gentleman in question. Promptly came the reply with the address I had
asked for. Dick Reece lived in Delaware and off went a letter to him. He
didn't· keep me waiting long, for his reply was swift. "Yes, it was me," he
wrote, or words to that effect. So, knowing that readers like to read
about such things, what follows is, more or less, what Dick has written to
roe about his activities with a paint-brush, well, some of them!
Your story about BOTNA, and the RG seat from "Rosie 0' Brady" I found
fascinating. However, there is more to write about than nose art for B-26s.
I executed the designs on many other items too, mechanics tool boxes,
barracks bags, wall plaques, and even on some mechanics work coveralls. On
the back of gunner's seats or where spare space could be found, I clearly
remember doing the name inside the fuselage near a waist gunner. For
enlisted aerial crews I refused payment. I was paid for nose art and
leather jackets, in fact, I lettered the officers name on the front of
their jackets. It was wise to do some of this art free. I rarely pulled
guard or extra duties.
The request for nose art usually originated from the crew chief of an
airplane, at the request of the pilot, there was never an agreed payment,
it was always at the discretion of the pilot who loved to see his sweet~
heart's name on his ship, and each mission recorded with a bomb symbol
under his window. Pilots were well paid, they lived freely and seeJ11ed
without care, money didn't mean that much and their payments were more than
generous. I can remember only one pilot who didn't pay me, a squadron
commander who should remain unnamed.
When I first started painting nose and jacket art it was because I liked to
draw and paint and probably did it for the fun of it. At first it was the
chance to do something different from what I was classified to do, sheet
metal work, repairing flak and bullet holes. Not every flight came back
shot up, so I was assigned a secondary job as a mechanic's assistant. I
changed more plugs, tightened more hose clamps than I care to remember. The
Air Corps knew what they were doing when they sent every recruit with a
farming background to mechanic's school, and why? Because these guys had
spent their childhood and teen years on tractors, trucks and old cars, and
learned how to make 'em "go." In the Air Corps they had to make 'em "fly."
Didn't matter to thelllt no different than a truck or tractor ... fuel,
ignition and •FLY".
My weekend passes to London, Paris, and Brussels were always well financed
by painting "collllllissions".
22
GREENHAM COMMON AND WELFORD PARK
5-6 June, 1944 <midnight to 0300). I h1:1ve just witnessed the take off of
the first serials of the 438th TCG carrying paratroopers of the 101st Air­borne
Division, spearheading the invasion of Europe. It was a model of
precision flying and air discipline. The C-47s, zebra striped for identifi­cation,
took off at 11 second intervals. Gen. Eisenhower told the grease­painted
paratroopers and the air crews: "The eyes of the world are on you
lonigllt." Before take off, l talked to Col. John M. Donaldson, pilot of
"Birmingham Belle", leading the first element, and most of the other flight
leaders. They were grim but calm. "Birmingham Belle" was airborne at 2248
hours, and the invasion of Europe was on.
Later I picked up Demaree Bess, war correspondent of The Saturday Evening
Post, and took him to Welford Park to witness the glider take off. The
first tow plane, piloted by Col. William B. Whitacre, Western Springs, IL,
rolled down the runway al 0119 with a hundred yard nylon rope towing a CG-
4A glider behind it. Lt.Col. Mike Murphyt Lafayette, IN, piloted the glider
"Fighting Falcon", a gift from students of Greenville, MI. 'fhe glider oper­ation
went off with precision, with an average of 18 seconds between
planes
We returned to Greenham Common to await the return of the first C-47s from
Normandy. As the pilotG returned and told their stories to intelligence
officers, we knew that the airborne operation was proceeding with wiexpect­ed
success. The Big Show was on!
<From "The Brereton Diaries" by Lt. Gen. Lewis H. Brereton)
HELPLINE
Illustrating the various aspects of research into the WW2 activities of U. S
servicemen in the UK, comes a request from Gary Bedingfield of 112 Howard
Close, Waltham Abbeyt Essex, EN9 lXB. Gary's research project is entitled
"Professional Basesball Players in Service in.Britain during WW2" and he is
especi.ally interested in the "Fund Raising" games that were played
l.hroughout the UK 11nd often featured Pro or ex·-Pro Baseball players. lf you
have an memories of, or relative information, please write direct to Gary.
BOOKLINE
Well known for his great book "Maraudermen" and various other in depth
studies, Maj. Gen. John 0. Moench, USAF, Ret., is writing a new history of
the Ninth AF Bomber Collllllflnd. .He ls currently in need of written material
about, and photos from, the three Havoc groups. He also needs material from
Bomber Command Wings, and is seeking photos of enlisted men at work. Plus
photos and other material from women who served with the Ninth. His address
is 905 Sweetwater Blvd South, Longwood, FL 32779-3430.
Roger Freeman's new book "Ninth Airfields, Then and No\<t' makes it's
appearance on May 15. Since this item was written before the 15th, we
haven't yet seen the book but are confident that it will become an
aviation'classic'. Price around £25.
23
SLIDING AROUND BRITAIN By Ron Kennedy, IX AF Service Colllllland.
On the subject of reverse lea~e lend. My first experience was when we got
brussel sprouts for breakfast.. with Spam! My next involved shoes. We
turned in a batch of shoes in need of repah to a British depot. On their
return they were outfitted with inunense sluds, or hobnails. This was fine
for walking on soft ground around the base, but one weekend l took off on a
pass to London. I walked into Hungerford to catch the train, which was okay
until I got on Hungerford's sloping sidewalks, and I kept sliding so had to
walk in the street. The payoff came when I visited Madam Tussauds. I
slipped while going up a .marble staircase and clattered butt over teakettle
to the landing, bruising my body and my dignity. Needless to say, on
arriving back at the base the studs were yanked out. <British readers who
served in WW2 will know that those studs needed a lot of mastering, but
what a very satisfying sound they made! ED)
FIR~! FS IN THE NINTH TO HAVE ROCKETS by Jack Gemender, 406th FG, 513th FS
Even before the rocket training started we knew something of importance was
afoot because the 513th received 17 bright new silver P-4-7D-25 and D-27
aircraft. These planes were flown down to us at ALG 4-17, Ashford from the
AAF Depot at Burtonwood. These new aircraft were all modified to carry
rockets, so for the next 3 days, the pilots and Engineering Dept worked to­gether
ironing out the 'bugs' in the planes, testing and slow timing them.
During this time the remaining planes in the squadron were flown to
Burtonwood to be fitted with rocket launchers.
Rockel training for half of t.he pilots started 6 July 194.4 with the appear­ance
of several experts in the rocket field. From Washington D. C., Group
Captain Hubert W. Dean, a member of the British Air Com.mission appeared, to
instruct on firing methods and general training procedure. Group Captain
Dean had the honour of being the first man to fire a rocket from a British
plane, he also conducted training in North Africa. Other men involved with
our training were, Carl D. Anderson, Ph.D., of the California Institute of
Technology, a man largely instrumental in rocket development, Mr c.c.
Lavritsen, of Cal. Tech., Mr Paul Reichert, of Wright Field, Lt. Col. Harry
L. Oonicht, of lhe Armament Laboratory at Wright Field, and Lt. Col.
William Hornsby, of Eglin Field, Florida. These men assisted the 513th FS
Armament and Engineering sections in assembling and fitting parts and
materials to accommodate the new rocket business. The Armament section esp­ecially,
needed instruction in fusing, shackling and handling these rockets
The first day of rocket training consisted of dry-run passes at a large
bulls-eye target on the runway. Three types of attack were emphasised, low
level at 600 yards, low level at 1000 yards, and a 30 degree dive at 1000
yards. The second day of training consisted of firing practise rounds of
3. 5 British type rockets in the three types of attack. The third day of
training gave the pilots practise in the use of the rocket they would fire
in combat. The 5 inch HVA rocket was fired at tanks along the sea wall on
the Channel coast.
The completion of the training found the pilots quite enthusiastic about
the rockets, they believed them to be accurate and capable of destroying
24
armoured vehicles, the biggest problem in rocket firing at great distance
was estimating ranges over 500 yards.The rockets being effective at 1100
yards and capable of penetrating 6 feet of concrete before exploding.
On 1 7 July, the first rocket mission was conducted on a marshalling yard
near Pontforey, France. The mission was highly successful and succeeded in
destroying 25 locomotives, damaging a roundhouse, and destroying a gun
position. All planes returned safely from this mission. The high velocity
and destructive power of the HVA rocket was demonstrated on a mission of 29
July, when one rocket destroyed four trucks near Gavray.
On 17 September 1944, 12 aircraft of the 513th FS took off for England for
some unknown work with the 8th AF. The purpose of their going was apparent
on 18 September, when the airborne landings in Holland began. The 513th
racketeers had the assigned task of preceding the troop carriers to the
drop ar·ea and clearing out flak posit ions and enemy personnel and equipment.
In the mission of the 18th, the 513th destroyed 5 half-tracks, 2 ammo
trucks, an ammo dump, a br·idge, cmd tieveral miscellaneous vehicles. 20-30
goods cars were destroyed by bombing. All the planes returned safely.
<Reproduced by courtesy of the 4-06th W\112 Fighter Group Assn, from
"Stardust" their offid.al newsletter).
CLOSE QUARTERS By Charles H. Marks. 81st FS, 50th FG.
On an afternoon i11 October 1944, eight Thunderbolts of the 81st FS were
dispatched on a gro1md support or· target of opportunity mission. Mission
coJil[llander was Major Bernie Bass, Hepburn was "A" flight leader, whilst I
led "B" Flight. Our armament was the usual lwo 500 pound GP bombs and, of
course, our eight . 50s. Bernie was one of the "elder statesmen" of the
81st. I flew as his wingman way back in July at a time when combat pilots
were being rotated back to the States after 25 or 30 missions. Now Bernie
had returned for a second tour, while I was st ill struggling to catch up
with an, ever elusive, "tour of duty" and was probably on my 45th to 50th
mission. Major Bass was a good pilot, calm, composed and skillful, but he
lost some of his cool when mission control directed us in on a German arm­oured
force occupying one half of a small village. Our tanks <easily
indentifiable by the cerise panels aft of their turrets) were almost gun­barrel
to gun-barrel on the opposite side of the village. I could discern a
note of apprehension in Major Bass's voice as he radioed back to question
the propriety of bombing at such close quarters. The return answer was that
the Allied tank commander urgently emphasised the need to secure this
village before nightfall, and our action was needed NOW! It also mentioned
that specific attention should be given to the church steeple which the
Germans were using as an observation post. "A" Flight leader radioed to his
charges to arm their bombs and follow his lead in making a south to north
pass over the target, being especially cautious of any westerly error that
would place the bombs over our own people. Dive bombing in those days
entailed a greater over-shoot, OI' short-fall problem, than lateral error.
As we pulled up off the target, one half of the village was engulfed by
smoke and fire, with little indication of the accuracy of our effort. An
anxious night was spent by all, until morning brought; word from Wing HQ
congratulating the 50th on the success of the mission.

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OTNA UL LE TIN
THE NEWSLEITER OF THE BUDDIES OF THE NINTH ASSOCIATION
HOTNA
Vol. 7, No. 2 June 1994
On the first piige ol tlw September l!:l8!:l issue of BOTNA BULLETIN your EdH01
gave Gome dtlentiuo lo Lhe welcome growth ln lhe · 1·ecruilmenl · uf ·§oung
people inlo BOTNA. Our late President, Lanny Lanowski, had long advocated
the encouragement of lhis important aspect and, if he were alive today,
would be delighted at the interest in WW2' s Ninth USAAF that is being
carried forward by a generation too young to have experienced the days when
the great air-armadas set forth from these shores. Since ·1939 the
percenlage of "under thirties" has steadily climbed and today represents a
very large section of the membership. This situation is echoed in the U. 5,
where many of the veteran associations count sons, daughter.s and
grandchildren among their number, ensuring continuation of those
associations long after their creators have notched up their final
missions. The message from the dwindling band, who survived the gre1:1t
dirninisher that was WW2, is, without doubt, "welcome lads and lassies, we
are grateful for your interest, we a.re delighted to have you .afjd are
pleased to know that you will continue to tell the story of the grealNinth
AF to all who will listen."
REUNION NEWS
Still meeting on an individual squadron basis, the 4-53rd BS Association, of
the 323rd BG, holds 1t' s 34-th Reunion, during the period 5 to 8 September,
1994, at the Las Vegas Tropicana, NV.
Meeting at the Radisson Hotel members of the 391st BG Association will hold
forth from 19 thru 23 October, 1994. A full progrBlllIDe of events has been
arranged culminati.ng in a Dinner Dance. W r\;,~,;- -~I~+;,,. -:
Members of the 451st BS, 322nd BG, reunite at the PE!abody Hotel, Mel\lphi,s,
TN, on 31 August, 199~.
At the Marriott Hotel in Albuquerque, NM, will gather members of thti 386i:h
BG, starting 31 August, 1994.
A number of 322nd BG veterans and their wives w:Ul, on Septembe.r 14, be
setting out for Europe on a 14-day tour which will bring them to England· on
21 September for a visit to their old field at Great Saling. MemberG of
BOTNA who wish to welcome and to chat 1 with the veterans, should be on th"e'
airfield during the morning. ·· ·
Many Ninth AF Fighter Group veterans will be visiting the UK during the
coming summer months and there are just too many individual parties to
mention, even if we knew about them all, which we don't! Of course, .ver:-y.
many more will be visiting old bases in France and we mustn• t forget that' ·ii-'
great many of the Ninth AF veterans who will be visiting Europe this year,
never did serve in England.
The same comments can be made about the veterans of Troop Carrier Groups,··
though not so much the bit about not serving in England. We know of a few
individual bands who will be heading our way and BOTNA members who are all
fired up to host the111i but, generally, there appears t.o be no major body of
TCG personrrel in sight, which is a pity, in view of their significant role.
2
REUNION NEWS
From the 409th BG Association, lnc. comes news of their next reunion which
will be held at the Executive Inn, Nashville, TN, over the dates 15-18
Sept ember, 1994.
BOTNA BULLETIN is published four times yearly to coincide with the
association's meetings which are scheduled to be held in the Staff Social
Club at Stansted Airport, Essex. Membership of BOTNA is open to all those
with a genuine interest in the Ninth Air Force of WW2. American members
receive BOTNA BULLETIN by surface mail. The annual subscription is $15,
which should be sent to the Treasurer Olive Mynn, The Dell, Kiln Hill,
IXWORTH, Suffolk, IP31 2HW. Bills are best as the cost of converting
dollar cheques is disproportionally high. The cost of U. K membership is
_currently £7 (£10 for husband and wife) 1 cheques payable to 'BOTNA'. I terns
for inclusion in BOTNA BULLETIN should be sent to the Editor: Bob Mynn, The
Dell, Kiln Hill, IXWORTH, Suffolk, IP31 2HW.
The BUDDIES OF THE NINTH ASSOCIATION is a non profit-making group composed
of aviBtion enthusiasts and others with a special affinity to the U. S Ninth
Air Force of W\112. It is run by a volunteer Management team, the members of
which are ·as follows.
Roger Freeman. PRESIDENT.
Hugh H. Walker. 391st BG. HONORARY PRESIDENT, USA.
Bob Mynn. CHAIRMAN & NEWSLETTER EDITOR.
John Hamlin. SECRETARY & ARCHIVIST.
Olive Mynn. TREASURER & MEMBERSHIP REGISTRAR.
John Nicholls. TROOP CARRIER COORDINATOR.
Carol De Coveley. TEAM ADVOCATE.
FRENCH NINTH AIR FORCE MUSEUM
The plans for a Ninth AF Museum in the airship hanger at Ecausseville have
had to be shelved, due the cost of refurbishment (25,000,000 Francs). A
move is in hand to locate an alternative building.
fRIENDS OR EXECUTIONERS?
A small party of 81st TCS veterans will travel to Europe with veterans of
the 101st Airborne Division.. Marty Wolfe writes "when the paratrooper vets
see. us, will they hug us or hang us? They sound peaceful enough over the
phone, but .....
3
THE NINTH AIR FORCE ON D-DAY
Reminiscences and observations of an historic day, compiled by John V.
Nicholls.
At first it was just a fuzzy sort of light, a dim glow hovering like a
cloud-obscured star on the northern horizon. The briefing-room clock said
11. 20 pm. the 5-2 calender said June 5, 194.4-. It was quiet. The blob of
light did not move ... it just grew. It grew too big to be a star, and theh
it just hung there taking on colour. First there were little pin-pricks of
al!lber, then red, then green. There was not a sound. Still it grew larger
and larger and hung like a Christmas tree in the clouds ... red, amber and
green.
Here and there a grease-stained mechanic glanced carelessly across the low,
dark valley to the north, then, startled, stood transfixed ...
"Fer Chrissake Joe, what's THAT?" Joe took his hands from the cold. oily
womb of an engine and squinted intently at the still night sky. "What's
WHAT?" he asks. "THERE, right THERE!" Then Joe saw it too. Well I' 11 be,
I' 11 be a son-of-a-bit ch" he said softly.
Slowly men arose from their work and turned tired faces to the wonder- in
the northern sky. Still it was quiet. Still it grew bigger, brighter. No,
it did not appear to mve ... it just grew. Still there was not a sound from
that Christmas tree in the clouds. It grew until it looked like a huge
magic~l::ity floating along in the sky. THEN you could see it move ... slowly,
majestically. Then you could HEAR it move, or maybe you FELT it first. The
whole sky, the soft night air, alive with the tremendous throb, the low,
deep throb, of countless churning engines. Then you could SEE them.
Planes, planes, dozens of planes! Great big lumbering C-47s. Troop trans­ports,
scores of the~ Douglas C-47s!
"My God! Here comes Glendale!" "This is IT! D-Day! Invasion! Oh my God!·~
For three solid hours they came. Men gathered in little knots on the
ground to watch them and count them, count them until it seemed impossible
there could be any more. They counted a thousand, a thousand planes were
going to fly over the coast of France at 500 feet ... with their lights ON!
"God, what a target! Oh, what a sight!"
This graphic description of the opening hours of D-Day, 1944, came from the
"4.74th Fighter Group in World War II" history. The 474-th' s base at
Warmwell, in the county of Dorset, was the last airfield in England to be
flown over by the vast troop carrier armada heading for Normandy, and for
many it would become the first haven for C-47s returning in a crippled
condition.
The purpose of this article is not to dwell upon the successes and failures ·
of the operations carried out by the Ninth AF on D-Day. The plans covering
the functions of the Ninth AF in Operation Overlord alone totalled over
800, 000 words on 1, 300 pages of double-sided, legal size paper, a paper war_
4
that almost equalled the shooting war.
they are planned.
Things wil 1 go wrong however well
Spearheading the Ninth AF's troop carrier formations were the Pathfinders
who took off from their base at North Wi.tham well before midnight. Their
task was to drop members of the 101st Airborne Division at 0020 who would
set up the markers for the following 50th and 52nd Troop Carrier Wings.
Pathf~nders of the 82nd Airborne were dropped at 0121 hours to mark the
drop ,zones for the 53rd Wing. Before D-Day was over, more than 800 C-47s
and C-53s of the troop carrier element would drop into action about 14,000
paratroopers of the 82nd and 101st Airborne (exact numbers in the records
vary>. In addition 206 Waco CG-4A and Horsa gliders with their C-47 tow
planes, were dispatched.
don't stand a chance." That was a good feeling, I knew they were
done when I saw all that." on the night of June 5th/6th. The orderly room was
actually staffed on a 24 hour basis. Non-commissioned officers patrols over the beach heads.
The unique twin boom tail layout of their P-38 Lightnings made them less
likely to be misteken for Luftwaffe fighters and cut down the risk of their
being shot at in error by the landing forces. In addition the group
carried out ground at tacks. No fewer than six missions were flown by the
group on D-Day.
Another P-38 outfit, the 474.th FG from Station 454 , was being
used in a dive-bombing role. Each of the planes from the 428th FS (The
Geyser Gang) carried two 1, 000 lb bombs for their only mission of the day.
Their target was a railroad bridge over the River Seine near Oissel, south
of Rauen, which was severely damaged. One plane had a hang-up but the bomb
fell free over England on return. FortW1ately it was unarmed.
The 365th FG (The Hell Hawks) were also in action in the dive-bombing role
from Beaulieu airfield. All day long they flew sorties with their P-47s,
and assisted in the final destruction of the Oissel rail bridge.
The 362nd FG at Headcorn had been briefed to attack various targets, but
poor weather prevented those targets from being pinpointed. The group did_
carry out escort missions for the troop carriers in the evening. and it was
2310 hrs before the last of it's P-47s landed back at base.
A footnote on the efforts of the Ninth AF on D-Day. Excluding the Troop
Carrier missions, the Ninth dispatched 3, 342 aircraft, of which 3, 050
achieved their objectives,
8
Of course, the activities recorded here represent a mere fraction of the
great effort which, as part of the overall Allied strategy, was extended by
the men of the Hinth AF on the big day, an effort about which we historians
fire prompted to ask ... would D-Day have succeeded without it?
Acknowledgements and sources. ThW1ks to Gale Ammerman, Jack Ryan, Al Saban
and Francis Collins for their correspondence.
"We np.:i thB 29th!" HnrkiBwlcz. "The History of the Hell Hawks." Johnson.
"Magin' s Maulers. 11 "The 474-th FG in WW2." Keller. ..Thunder Monsters Over
Europe." Nolte, "The 367th FG in WW2." Moody. "The Geyser Gang ... Steinko.
"Marauder Men. 11 Moensch. "391st BG History WW2." .. The Crusaders: Story of
the 386th BG." Young. "Bridge Busters: Story of the 394th BG." Ziegler.
"USAAF-409th BG... "The 410th BG in WW2." "The Ninth AF in WW2." Rust.
THE DEVELOPMENT AND HISTORY OF "CAMP GRIFFISS". BUSHY PARK
Camp Griffiss was nal!led in memory of Lt. Col. Townsend , and these were completed in Septem­ber
194-1. Construction started in the following month of October, the
contract being awarded to the building comptmy "Kent & Sussex Ltd" with Mr
W. A. R. Armstrong appointed as Clerk of Works. These T. O. B's were to be
ready for occupation as civilian offices by the spring of 194-2. However,
as the blitz on London decreased, so proportionally had the construction
work in Bushy Park slowed. By June 194-2, when the· site was inspected for
possible use by the 8th USAAF, the building programme lagged seriously
behind the initial target dates, partly due to the severe shortage of
skilled cniftsman and labour created by war conditions, with only Block "A"
complete and Block B nearing completion. Despite these problems, the 8th
AF were granted use of the property through the British Government's Air
Ministry, being requisitioned on 10 June 1942.
When first occupied by the Bth AF on 17 June 1942, Camp Griffiss consisted
of two main sections. (1) The "King's Canadian School0 , better known
as "Upper Lodge", a short distance from the Hampton Hill/Pantile Bridge
entrance to Bushy Park. This famous fine old building was first construct­ed
by Sir John Hippesly in 1628. It was completely rebuilt by Charles
Montagu, Viscount Sunbury and 1st Earl of Halifax, in 1709. He laid out
extensive gardens in the fornal style and improved the flow of the Longford
River·,-- which ran through the property, the latter action considerably
helping the performance of the water fountains at Hampton Court Palace.
Upper Lodge was again completely rebuilt between 1810 and 1820, it was also
considerably enlarged. During the First World War Upper Lodge became the
King's Canadian Hospital, treating Canadian servicemen who had been wounded
in combat. King George V and Queen Mary visited the hospital, entering the
Park via the Hampton Hill gate. Between the two World Wars the property was
used by the London County Council as the "King's Canadian Open Air Camp
School", a treatment centre for under-privilaged children from poor homes
in London's East End who were suffering from respiratory complaints. KCS
was designated as a barracks area for enlisted men in June 1942.
(2) The other section of Camp Griffiss was situated about a ~ mile from KCS
and near the Teddington Park Road entrance, about one hundred yards right
of Sir Christopher Wren's world famous chestnut avenue, and consisted of a
one storey newly-built brick structure, 420 feet long by 180 feet wide­Block
"A"- complete with 16 spurs, and a second building-Block "B"- which
was nearing completion.
Immediately in June 1942, Mr Bucknell' s M. O. W Design Of Hee was contacted
through the Air Ministry, and plans were prepared for a third unit-Block
"C"- J ocated approximately 200 yards south and equidistant to Blocks "A., &
"B". Mr Bucknell was also instructed to plan a new Main Entrance to the
Camp and a road system connecting the Blocks.
The first Post Commander was Lt. Col. Harold B. Willis, who in his civilian
life was a prominent architect from Boston. He also had the added
advantage of many years experience of military matters and procedure. He
assumed command on 9 July 1942, When the first contingent of 8th AAF troops
10
arrived at Camp Griffiss. It was this extremely fortunate combination of
both civil and military experience, that mBde it possible to convert the
existing T. O. B facilities into those for the 8th AF ETO Headquarters, in
such a relatively short period of time. From the available projection data
known at that particular time, Col. Willis prepared a further plan to
satisfy the requirements of "Widewing". Another M. 0, W architect, Mr C. E.
Bedford, was instructed to prepare for a 750 men camp at Sites 3 and 4-1
entitled by the 8th AF ,.Chestnut Avenue". This was requisitioned on 1 Aug­ust
1942 and occupied on the 10th. In addition, Site 2, called "The Warren
Plantation" was requisitioned for a further camp site on 1 August 194-2 and
although occupied officially on 1 September, it was finally completed on 1
October 1942. With the completion of the "Warren Plantation'° site, troops
could be moved out of Block "B.. and under canvas. The evacuated "B'" Block
becoming the Logistics Headquarters of the VIII AFSC, with it's own men to
be quartered at KCS, which was requisitioned 10 June 1942. Mr Bedford was
instructed to augment the facilities there with a new .Mess Hall and Ablu­tions
for 1000 men, before the enlisted men of the HQ VIII AFSC could be
housed there on anything like a permanent basis.
By 13 August 19421 when Col. Willis was succeeded by Col. Neal Creighton of
North Carolina, an Air Force officer of 26 years as Squadron and Station
Commander. The awesome 'responsibility for carrying on this "Herculian"
construction programme and modifying it as conditions in the ever-changing
ETO demanded, and of developing the camp from a collection of buildings,
tent sites and assorted troops, fell onto the shoulders of the new Post
Commander.
By this time H had been realised that further building would have to be
undertaken. Mr Bucknell was instructed through the British Air Ministry to
design a fourth structure UNDS
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14
D-DAY AND THE 409TH BG by Charles G. McMahon. 409th BG.
A-20s from the 409th BG flew two missions on D-Day. Target for the first
mission was the town of Valognes, located part way up the Cherbourg
Peninsular. An important railroad junction was located there that was
being used to send supplies to the German troops on the tip of the
Peninsular. There was also a heavily fortified German garrison that lay
directly in the path of the advancing Allied land forces. The mission was
composed of three boxes of eighteen Havocs.
We took off at 0900 and followed a route that took us down near London, and
then out over the white cliffs of Dover and above the Channel. It soon
became obvious that history was being made, it was a sight that would never
be forgotten by the crews who viewed it. Ships were visible in all
directions, heavy destroyers were bombarding German strongholds on the
coast, and Allied troops were seen standing shoulder to shoulder in the
invasion barges as they headed for the beache&.
Visibility over the target was poor, with 8/10 cloud cover. The box led by
Major Milow and B/N Lt. Ertler, were able to bomb from 10,000 feet on their
second run, despite heavy, accurate flak. The box led by Lt. Gates and B/N
Lt. Bauer were able to bomb from 10. 000 feet on their second pass, with
flak on all sides. The box led by Col. Stocking and BIN Lt. Clements
consisted mostly of crews from the 642nd BS. As they approached the
Cherbourg Peninsular at 9,000 feet, cloud cover started moving in at 4,000
feet. _The Col. and his navigator realised that they would be unable to
make an effective bomb run under these conditions, so the Col. made a long,
sweeping turn, and slow let down to 31 000 feet, just under the cloud cover.
As they hit landfall all hell broke loose. The crews had never seen this
much ground fire before and could actually see the German gunners on the
ground firing at them. Black bursts of flak were sending razor-sharp
pieces of metal through the formation. As they approached the target, the
heavily armed German garr·ison stationed there, started directing all their
firepower at the A-20s.
Turbulance caused by the exploding shells was making it difficult to
maintain the tight formation needed for accurate bombing, and with all the
groundfire the bomb run seemed like an eternity. It got so rough there was
some question as to whether B/N Lt. Clements could stay at his bombsight.
Orders were to hit the target at any cost. Lt. Clements hung in there and
made the drop. At approximately the same time, Lt. Winn, who was flying
Deputy Lead, took a direct hit near the trailing edge of his wing and went
down in flames. Lt. Bill Holmes, flying the #4- position just under and
slightly to the rear of Col. Stocking's plane, saw one of Lt. Winn's
gunners get out in a ball of flame, he never had a chance. Two chutes were
seen. At. the same time, some of the planes in the rear of the formation
were taking evasive action to get out of the way of two engines and one
wing of Lt. Winn's wreckage that was flying back through the formation.
They never did get back in formation, and everyone was on their own. it was
the first time the Group had ever broken formation. Several of the planes
started to pull back up into the overcast to escape the murderous
groundfire. Lt. Holmes came out of the overcast fast and the enemy fire
had. stopped, He was soon joined by Capt. Jerry Autin, who pulled up
alongside and gave the ole -"wipe-the-sweat-off-the-brow" signal. Capt.
15
Autin' s aircraft had numerous flak holes in the rear and his shattered
rudder was flapping in the breeze like a flag. They were soon joined by
other crews and made it back to home base. Every plane in the squadron had
suffered battle damage, Lt. Holmes' plane had 52 holes in it.
Of the 54- planes on the mission, four were shot down. One A-20 that
received major damage and still kept flying was that of Lt. Glen Gerring of
the 642nd BS. His gunners were S/Sgt. George Fry in the turret, and S/Sgt.
Billy Eads in the tunnel. Their plane took several hits on the bomb run
and, as they fought their way back towards the French coast they continued
to take heavy groundfire. Intercom {10d hydnrnlic systems were shot out,
bomb bay doors dropped open, or were shot off, and the flaps came down.
Lt. Gerring had to bring all his training and flying experise into play to
keep the Havoc flying. S/Sgt. Fry took a hit in his right leg but stayed
at his turret position. After they crossed the Channel, two RAF Mosquito
night fighters came up, one on each side, and led the Havoc to their
British base, which had a long, grassy field, just what Lt. Gerring needed
to land without brakes. He made an excellent landing and was credited with
saving the lives of his crew. The maintenance officer at the British base
checked the A-20 and when S/Sgt. fry asked him if he thought it would ever
fly again, the officer said, "I don't think so." The plane had at least 85
holes in H !
The target for the afternoon D-Day mission was the marshalling yard at
Albencqurt. The German's ,were rushing their Tiger Tanks by rail to the
invasion point, and the tanks were sit ting in the marshalling yard. This
was another "must" target, to be hit at all costs, Ground crews rushed to
get the planes repaired and back in the air and the mission was again
composed of three 18 plane boxes. The weather for the afternoon mission
was worse than the morning and one box could not find the target, whilst 10
planes from another box got separated from the others in heavy cloud.
Col. Stocking, and his B/N Lt. Clements, were again leading the 642nd BS
crews on their second mission of the day. Capt. Bills and his B/N' Lt .
.McEvilly were flying Deputy Lead, Lt. Bill Holmes was again in the 114
position. Col. Stocking suddenly signalled his radio was out and left the
lead, the Deputy Lead crew then took over the lead. Heavy cloud cover
forced the A-20s to, again, go in low. Groundfire was again heavy. but Lt.
McEvilly found the target and got good hits. All aircraft suffered heavy
damage, one A-20 lost an engine but made it back to a P-4-/ base in southern
England. .
A few months after the 391st BG arrived at Matching, England, it's base for
nine months in 1944, a battle-damaged, crippled P-47 righter made an
emergency landing on our runway. While being carried to the ambulance, the
wounded pilot kept insisting to his rescuers, "don't lose the film
magazine, don't lose the gun camera film magazine!" It was an example of
the important role thBt film records played in WW2. Like other, largely
unheralded, Ninth AF groWld support units, the Photo Section played it's
part during the saga of the Ninth' s successful tactical campaign which
supported the Allied Armies in their destruction of the once invincible
German Wehrmacht, and Adolph Hitler's grandiose dreams of world conquest.
The 391st BG Photo Section was composed of a group photographer and the
addition of photographers from the four squadrons. Each squadron had four
photo men on it's roster. Some of the men had years of photographic back­ground,
while the rest of the section bad only completed the AAF' s three
month basic photography course at Lowry Field, Denver, Colorado. The Photo
Section work schedule and procedures were divided into working groups when
the Bomb Group was on combat mission alert. Film processing, developing,
and printing. the strike photoographs was performed by two alternating crews
working 24 hours on and 24 hours off. Also working 24 hourH on and 24 hours
off were two alternating camera installation crews.
A soft-spoken native of Atlanta, GA, Capt. John R. Peterson, was our Group
Photographic Officer. If ever there was a person who represented a southern
gentleman in the finest meaning, it was he. His deep Georgia accent, and
his courteous manner, left no doubt as to where he was from. Capt. Drake, a
tall, distinguished-looking man, was Group Intelligence Officer, and the
perfect compliment for Capt. Peterson. Unfortunately he transferred to
Bomber Command later.
17
The enlisted men in the Photo Section were a "grab-bag'' of personalities
from all over the country. Two were from Long Island1 another came from
Manhattan. Two called Colorado their1 home state.The midwest was represented
by a lothario from Ohio. Of course, one had to come from New Jersey so
that all the publicity would not go to New York. A silent type from Maine
and a "begorra Irishman" from Boston answered the call for New England. Our
camera repairman was an Army Regular who had a fine touch with the cameras
and kept them functioning. I was from California, a native yet. No war can
be won without a Texan to win it for us, and the 391st photo section was no
except ion. Al though I met many sons and daughters of the Alamo, who were
great to have around, unfortunately, our Texan did not fit that category.
How Texas survived when he left, no one will ever know! My memory fails me
as to the rest of the guys.
If my 50 year-old memories are right, the 391st BG Photographic Section
personnel, consisting of Stavanoah, Cook, Reitman, Bush, Moss, Guappone,
and Bob Cox Grubb.
The first Pathfinder Squadron OU, Provisional, was conceived by General
Samuel E. Anderson, Commander of the Ninth Bombardment Division, as early
as January 1944. The Division had been working on a llllethod to continue
bombing attacks during periods of bad weather, a constant threat during the
winter 111.0nths in England and on the continent. This technique was put into
actual service after long months of practice, trial missions, and intense
study.
When I arrived in England in September 19~4. I had never heard of the 1st
Pathfinder Squadron, it was highly classified. I was assigned to the t52nd
BS, 322nd BG, at Andrews Field where I only flew a few missions as I was
recovering from a long bout of lockjaw. However, after crossing the
channel into France, the 322nd BG shared the airfield 6t Beauvais with the
1st Pathfinder Squadron. The field had been badly damaged by the Ninth,
including the 322nd! It was here, after blowing a left tyre on take-off
for a mission, and luckily sparing the aircraft from serious damage, that I
was reassigned to Pathfinder. During the next six months we moved from
base to base, lived mostly in tents throughout the winter, and finally
finished out the war in Venlo, Holland.
Since the Pathfinder Sqdn was provisional, this meant that it did not have
it's own table of organisation, all crews were selected from various groups
of Ninth BoJDber Command. This also meant, among other things, that all
promotions ceased mile serving in the Squadron, as the Groups from which
we came were very reluctant to promote those of us who were actually on TDY
. The main, and only, reason for the existence of our
Pathfinder Sqdn was to be able to lead Groups of the 9th Bomber Division to
their targets during periods of bad weather. This promised increased
harrassment to the enemy who were being severely bombed by the RAF during
night raids, and by the 8th and 9th Bombardment Groups during daylight
hours. The enemy now had to worry about bombing attacks during rotten
weather, a time that had, up to now, been a period of relative relaxation,
a time when he could attend to maintenance of flak guns, aircraft, etc, and
get some rest.
Many of the Pathfinder pilots had been B-26 flight instructors as I had
been, and most had considerable B-26 flying time. I had already
experienced blown tyres, engine failures, and a belly-landing, before
arriving overseas, and had accumulated over 750 hours flying time. This
experience helped tremendously when it came time to lead formations as
smoothly as possible and the previous instrument flying time proved
invaluable. One of the pluses being a Pathfinder pilot was the freedom we
were given by Gen. Anderson to fly when we wanted to, despite the weather,
to and fro the various bases in Europe.
A Pathfinder crew usually had a day that went something like this ... The
weather would deteriorate, snow, low clouds, fog, etc, over the target
areas. We would be woken very early, 2 or 3 am, and we would grab a cup of
coffee and head for our briefing at Operations. Since each of our aircraft
was scheduled to fly with a different Group, we naturally had briefings for
our individual targets. We would then board our planes, take off at night,
and fly to the Group's base. We would then attend the briefing and co-
20
ordinate the mission with the Group Commander. Then it was time to take
off, many times at dawn, climb through the overcast, if there was one
locally, form up on top and proceed to the target. Pathfinder planes
usually carried ~x500lb bombs which were used strictly as a reference for
the Group to drop on. Our bombardier would calibrate the proper release
point depending on the trajectory of the bombs the Group was carrying. As
soon as the Group bombardier saw our bombs drop free, he toggled out his
bombs and the rest of the formation followed suit. We often dropped from
on top of an overcast, but IMilY times the entire formation would be in
overcast or light snow, or between layers. At times like these it was to
the great credit of the Group that they were able to maintain formation
under such severe conditions. Add to this the ever present flak, radar
controlled towards the end of the war, which in spite of all the chaff we
tossed out into the slipstream from every bomber in the formation, was
always a menace. More often than not most of us returned to base with a
variety of holes in our aircraft, much to the dismuy of the ground crews
who always did a magnificent job of repairing the damage. After the drop
the Pathfinder would have the option of returning to base alone, or, if the
penetration ito enemy territory was fairly deep and enemy fighters were
ab~ut, of staying with the formation for protection. If the weather
cleared over the target, usually the Group Co11111ander assumed control and
bombed visually.
The equipment we carried was mostly of British design and highly
classified. Whenever our Marauders were parked there was always a guard
posted, and self destruct devices attached to the equipment so that it
could be destroyed if the ship went down over enemy territory. The crew,
including the pilot, had no precise knowledge of what made the equipment
work. We knew how to interpret the signals we received in our headsets
21
PAINTING MONEY By Bob Mynn.
At the end of last year I was reading through the latest edition of
"Milkrun", the newsletter of the 34-4-th BG Association, when 1 came upon an
article about the man who did the nose art for the 4-95th BS. Now, most of
you will know that I have the Radio/gunner's seat from "Rosie O' Brady", a
B-26 which belonged to that same 4-95th BS. The seat has a duplicate of
"Rosie's" nose art on the back, plus the painted-on signatures of all the
crew members. Well, I wondered, could this have been painted by the
gentleman in the article? I wrote immediately to Lambert Austin, Secretary
of the 34-4-th BG Association, requesting the address of Dick Reece, the
gentleman in question. Promptly came the reply with the address I had
asked for. Dick Reece lived in Delaware and off went a letter to him. He
didn't· keep me waiting long, for his reply was swift. "Yes, it was me," he
wrote, or words to that effect. So, knowing that readers like to read
about such things, what follows is, more or less, what Dick has written to
roe about his activities with a paint-brush, well, some of them!
Your story about BOTNA, and the RG seat from "Rosie 0' Brady" I found
fascinating. However, there is more to write about than nose art for B-26s.
I executed the designs on many other items too, mechanics tool boxes,
barracks bags, wall plaques, and even on some mechanics work coveralls. On
the back of gunner's seats or where spare space could be found, I clearly
remember doing the name inside the fuselage near a waist gunner. For
enlisted aerial crews I refused payment. I was paid for nose art and
leather jackets, in fact, I lettered the officers name on the front of
their jackets. It was wise to do some of this art free. I rarely pulled
guard or extra duties.
The request for nose art usually originated from the crew chief of an
airplane, at the request of the pilot, there was never an agreed payment,
it was always at the discretion of the pilot who loved to see his sweet~
heart's name on his ship, and each mission recorded with a bomb symbol
under his window. Pilots were well paid, they lived freely and seeJ11ed
without care, money didn't mean that much and their payments were more than
generous. I can remember only one pilot who didn't pay me, a squadron
commander who should remain unnamed.
When I first started painting nose and jacket art it was because I liked to
draw and paint and probably did it for the fun of it. At first it was the
chance to do something different from what I was classified to do, sheet
metal work, repairing flak and bullet holes. Not every flight came back
shot up, so I was assigned a secondary job as a mechanic's assistant. I
changed more plugs, tightened more hose clamps than I care to remember. The
Air Corps knew what they were doing when they sent every recruit with a
farming background to mechanic's school, and why? Because these guys had
spent their childhood and teen years on tractors, trucks and old cars, and
learned how to make 'em "go." In the Air Corps they had to make 'em "fly."
Didn't matter to thelllt no different than a truck or tractor ... fuel,
ignition and •FLY".
My weekend passes to London, Paris, and Brussels were always well financed
by painting "collllllissions".
22
GREENHAM COMMON AND WELFORD PARK
5-6 June, 1944